Environmental tobacco smoke (ETS) is a highly prevalent respiratory irritant. In agreement with previous cross-sectional studies, our study indicates that exposure to ETS may increase the occurrence of respiratory symptoms and diseases in children, and the association of ETS exposure and respiratory health of children increased in strength with number of cigarettes smoked inside the house per day during workday and day-off. Boys may be more susceptible to ETS than girls. These findings support the view that measures should be taken to reduce ETS exposure for children.
The relationship between exposure to animals and allergic respiratory diseases in childhood is controversial. Inconsistent with other cross-sectional studies mostly conducted in industrialized countries, our study indicates that exposure to animals may increase the occurrence of respiratory symptoms and diseases in children, and the associations with respiratory symptoms strengthened with higher levels of animal exposure parental atopy did modify the effect of pet exposure on persistent phlegm but not on doctor-diagnosed asthma. These findings support the view that measures should be taken to reduce animal exposure for children in China.
Background
Low back pain (LBP) is a ubiquitous health problem affecting most of healthcare staff. However, there have been not effort to derive robust prevalence estimates of LBP among intensive care unit (ICU) nurses.
Aims and objectives
To determine the prevalence of LBP among ICU nurses.
Methods
A systematic review and meta‐analysis was conducted. Five databases were searched: Web of Science, PubMed, MEDLINE (Ovid), Embase, and CINHAL databases. Original research that reported the prevalence of LBP among ICU nurses using a 12‐month recall period were included. In order to assess methodological quality, we used a quality rating system which is specifically developed for LBP studies. Cochran's Q and the I2 test were applied to assess heterogeneity. Subgroup analysis was applied to identify factors that may contribute to heterogeneity. Presence of potential publication bias was assessed by using Egger's test and visual inspection of the symmetry in funnel plots.
Results
Twenty‐seven studies reporting data from 2004 to 2020 on the prevalence of LBP in a defined ICU nurses were included (participants:6258; range: 3‐1345). Twenty‐one (77.8%) studies were of “high” quality. Among the included studies, the lowest and the highest prevalence were found to be 34.5% and 100.0%, respectively. Meta‐analysis of included studies yielded a pooled prevalence of 12‐month LBP at 76.0% (95% CI, 69.0%‐81.8%). (I2 = 96.0%, Chi‐squared = 722, P‐value < .01).
Conclusion
LBP is prevalent among ICU nurses. Greater attention is urgently needed to address this burdensome health problem among ICU nurses, particularly with an emphasis to develop preventive strategies.
Relevance to clinical practice
The results of our meta‐analysis have important consequences for ICU nurse managers. Our finding of high prevalence rate of LBP among ICU nurses suggests that more attention should be devoted to develop and apply prevention programs for ICU nurses to manage this global issue.
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